10 lady fingers
3 medium size brinjals
15 tofu puffs
15 long fat red chilies
1 large bittergourd
Prepared vegetable means, ladies fingers trimmed and the fine hair scraped away. A slit is made in the centre to enable the the fish paste to be stuffed nicely into.
Brinjals, cut into slices and the paste is sandwiched in between two slices.
Tofu puffs, blanched in boiling water and a small incision made for stuffing.
Red chilies, cut off the stems, make a slit and discard seeds.
Bittergourd, sliced in rings and discard the centre and the seeds. Fill the paste in the centre of the bittergourd ring.
Heat a frying pan or wok with some grapeseed oil and sear all the stuffed vegetables. Do not burn just sear them till they are just lightly browned. Set them aside until all the vegetables are done and in the same wok, add 3 Tbsp of fermented bean paste, 5 cloves of chopped garlic and saute for a minute or two, add some chili paste if desired, slowly put in all the seared vegetables. You may make them in batches, if your wok is too small. Adding a little water into the wok to create some gravy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Note : Fish balls and fish cakes can also be made to accompany the vegetables. Serve the fish balls in the fish stock and a handful of choy sum.